Woodcuts and Wood-Engravings

Thomas Bewick (1753-1828)
A History of British Birds
Newcastle: Charles Henry Cook for R.E. Bewick, 1832

Englishman Thomas Bewick, as mentioned at the start of this exhibit, revolutionized wood engraving. Early on in life, he demonstrated a real talent for art, drawing especially, which he was able to transfer to the medium of wood. He ultimately put his skills to use for the benefit of his other interest, ornithology. The degree of detail he was able to achieve with this new method and new tools for wood engraving allowed for a depth and detail previously only achieved with copper-plate engraving. Seen here are a few images from his A History of British Birds, including a small vignette. Bewick included numerous images like this - they are quite small, but seem to demonstrate to some extent the level of detail he could fit into a very small space. The actual size of the vignettes, in most cases, was less than 1 inch high.

volume 2, the Great Auk

Volume 2, page 78, minute details on a single feather

Volume 2, page 93 - the actual size of this illustration is less than 1 inch high.

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